After injury-plagued season, Red Wings proud of resiliency following playoff loss to Sharks

AP PhotoDetroit's Johan Franzen, left, shakes hands with San Jose's Joe Pavelski after the Red Wings' Game 5 loss Saturday night.DETROIT -- Despite being eliminated in five games by the San Jose Sharks, the Detroit Red Wings said they felt the series was there for the taking.

The Red Wings lost four one-goal games and led or were tied during the third period in each game. Ultimately, the Sharks found ways win, capitalizing on power plays and making clutch plays.

The Red Wings were disappointed in their earliest playoff exit in four years, but proud of their resilience during an injury-plagued season. And they believe the future is bright.

"From where we were at the Olympic break to where we ended up, we had a real good year," coach Mike Babcock said after his team's 2-1 loss Saturday night in Game 5 at the HP Pavilion. "It's disappointing to lose, especially when you've been to the Stanley Cup finals two years in a row, the final four the year before. You're still proud of the group, how hard they competed."

Center Henrik Zetterberg called it "a different season."

"From the start we had a lot of injuries, a lot of new faces, but we found a way to get into the postseason," Zetterberg said. "I think a lot of people doubted that we were going to make it. We gave it a good run, but it wasn't good enough."

The Red Wings, who have played more games than any club over the past four seasons, believe there was a fatigue factor. It might have showed late in games. San Jose outscored Detroit 7-1 in the third period and overtime, combined, in the games it won.

"We played a lot of hockey the last 3-4 weeks, a lot of travel. I think it caught up just a little bit," defenseman Brian Rafalski said. "If we can maybe win one of those earlier games it makes a difference at the end of the series."

Patrick Marleau snapped a 1-1 tie at 6:59 of the third period Saturday night, one-timing a pass from Joe Thornton. Thornton had tied the game on the power play at 4:54 of the second period, shortly after Rafalski opened the scoring at 2:40.

Babcock said the longer-than-desired offseason will help refresh the team.

"We understand how hard it is to win every year," Babcock said, "There's no question that year after year we've played a ton of playoff games. That catches up to you. Our guys will have more time to work out this summer than they've had in a long time. That will really help, especially our high-end guys."

Said defenseman Brad Stuart: "We'll be fresh and ready to go next season."